


Just the Messenger

by Jackdaw816



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Fix-It, Letters, M/M, Series 03 Fix-It: Children of Earth (Torchwood), Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26221861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackdaw816/pseuds/Jackdaw816
Summary: Jack receives an unexpected visitor and a mysterious letter
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: Bingo Fest 2020





	Just the Messenger

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Wow, I'm Not Crazy" by AJR which is a bop that you should all go listen to. It has almost nothing to do with this fic, but... listen to it anyway
> 
> Also, I'm treating the Tarot Girl and Faith as the same person cause... I'm right, heh
> 
> Squares filled: Time travel, tarot girl (Hit a bingo, ha! Gonna go for blackout because I'm stubborn like that)

Jack was working (well, attempting to work) at his desk when she appeared before him. He jumped, spilling organized files over the floor. Shoot, Ianto would kill him. If he survived whatever portents of doom the little tarot-reading girl was bringing him this time.

“Hello, captain,” the girl said calmly, seemingly unaware of the scattered documents. He took a deep breath and attempted to steady his racing heartbeat. 

“Hi,” Jack said. “Uh, tarot girl.”

“You may call me Faith,” she said primly, taking a seat across the desk. Jack nodded.

“Alright, Faith. Mind telling me what you’re doing here and why you just let yourself in?” Jack asked, crossing his arms firmly. Hopefully, it made him look more intimidating, and less like a man who’d been spooked by a little girl. Even a scary, psychic little girl.

“I come bearing a message,” Faith said, producing a thick letter from her satchel. She offered it to Jack, and he took it carefully.

“From who?” Jack asked. He didn’t know many others who knew of Faith’s existence. Anyone alive, anyway. Most of those who had were dead now.

“An old mutual acquaintance. They’ve asked that their identity remain a secret.” Faith frowned slightly, marring her delicate features. “But they said to consider this an apology. And a gift.”

“An apology for what?” Jack demanded, getting to his feet. Faith rose opposite him and shook her head.

“I don’t know. I’m only playing messenger because I owe them a favor. And now that my debt is paid, I will take my leave.”  
“Faith-” But she was gone, back into the ether like she’d never been. Only the weight of the letter in his hand proved that she hadn’t just been a figment of Jack’s very tired imagination. With a sigh, Jack sat back down and angled the lamp so that he could take a closer look.

The letter was generic, an envelope that Jack could have found in any post office in the past hundred years. The ambiguity told him that this letter was from someone skilled in deception. They didn’t want to be traced. His name was scrawled on the front, ‘Jack’, in vaguely familiar handwriting. That was the only writing; no date or return address, no other hints to the sender.

There was no seal, gum or wax. The top flap of the envelope was simply tucked into the bottom flap. Jack ignored how his hands trembled as he opened the letter and removed the contents.

Inside there were two things: the letter itself and a small stack of newspaper clippings. Jack put the clippings aside - they had provided much of the envelope’s weight - and directed his attention to the letter, just a single page. The paper was thick and creamy; the words written in black ink. Jack took a deep breath and began to read.

_Dear Jack,_

_There are many things that I cannot tell you, for the sake of the space-time continuum. So, I’ll stick to what I can. Please believe this letter. If you don’t, well, you’re not the only one who will suffer._

_In a week, an old enemy of yours will come to Earth. You won’t recognize them right away. They’ve changed their MO, you see. But it’s them. What you called the 456. They’re back, and this time they won’t be satisfied with just a dozen children. They will decimate your young, and so much more, if you don’t stop them._

_The government will betray you. Don’t trust your allies in the Home Office. They will kill your colleagues from 1965, and they will try to kill you too. Also, do not believe anything Dr. Rupesh Patanjali has to say. He’s on their side. (I suggest you implement full-body scans at your base. Just a precaution.)_

_You named the 456 after their frequency. The frequency is very important. Look into that. Get ahold of Martha Jones before she goes on her honeymoon. You’ll need UNIT’s help without any tech support on staff. Sorry for your losses._

_Most importantly, no matter how this plays out, you need to know this._ **_Do not take Ianto with you into Thames House._ ** _I can’t tell you exactly what happens or rather, what did happen. Time’s hard to explain in English. Anyway, don’t think about it too hard. Time’s still in flux, and if anyone can change it, it’s you._

_Good luck,_

_Your Friend_

Jack stared in silence for several moments. The 456, back? And worse than before? That couldn’t be right. Why would they come back? He checked the stack of newspaper clippings. 

They were all dated seven to twelve days in the future. They all told stories of children speaking in unison, an explosion in the Bay, some sort of incident in Thames House. The third was all speculation about gas and secret body removals, but judging by the letter writer’s insistence at keeping Ianto away from Thames House, the rumors were likely true.

“Shit,” Jack whispered, setting the clippings down. Someone had taken a big risk to give him this information. He read the letter over again; nothing jumped out about who had authored it. He’d analyze the handwriting, but he had a feeling it’d turn up nothing. Skimming the letter again, he took notes on the most important parts.

In a week, the 456 would arrive. They wanted ten percent of the children this time, probably ten percent of _all_ the children. He didn’t remember the names of his colleagues, those people who had gone with him in a foolhardy attempt to save the many by condemning the few. But he could find them again, maybe save them. Even if they didn’t deserve it.

He was a little disappointed to see that Patanjali was a traitor. He’d really been hoping that he’d finally found their new doctor. Not that anyone could ever replace Owen, but Gwen and Ianto didn’t have hyper-accelerated healing. Maybe now he could convince Martha to join them permanently.

With a week’s notice, everything would be doable. He could make sure that not a single soul was lost to the 456 this go-round. As he started to type a polite, but forceful email to UNIT enlisting their help, Jack began to wonder. Just what calamity was he avoiding? And just what would he have lost?

**Author's Note:**

> I will not tell you who wrote the letter, but spoiler, I don't know myself. I've got like five different people in mind who could have, so I'm gonna leave it up to you. Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
